Lizbeth Gonzalez-Ortiz is a junior here at Middle Creek. She was born in North Carolina on September 25, 2005, to a Mexican family and later moved back to Mexico when she was four years old. She moved back to North Carolina after five years of living in Mexico and had lots to say about it.
“I really liked living in Mexico because I had a lot of freedom,” she said cheerfully. “Maybe it was because I was younger and always got to play outside. I don’t know, I still remember it being so fun though!” Lizbeth loves it here in North Carolina as well; the only unfortunate part for her is the racism that she has to face more frequently. “It’s really annoying and frustrating because people go out of their way to be racist toward you and they know nothing about you.”
Her favorite subject in school is Spanish, and outside of school she enjoys taking nature walks with her siblings, watching movies, and cooking. “I’m more of a homebody, so all of my hobbies are at home.” Lizbeth’s favorite thing to cook is tamales. “It can be a long process, but I don’t mind because it’s so worth it in the end; they’re so good!”
When asked what Hispanic Heritage Month means to her, Lizbeth was proud to say that it’s a very important time to reflect and explore her background. Her family celebrates it one weekend a month by having a big dinner and talking to each other about their memories from Mexico. More than anything, Lizbeth loves to spend time with her family. She has a sister and brother named Lidia and Anthony.
Lizbeth plans on going to college to be a Medical Interpreter. “I empathize with those who can’t get medical help because they can’t speak English,” she says passionately, “and I want them to be able to get the health care that they need.” She is very serious about her education and is proud to be the first one in her family to make it this far in school. She regrets not being more involved in the school in the past and plans on changing that with all the new opportunities at Middle Creek.